Before the Edges Synthos Corporation was the corpoate and political giant it is today, it was a small terraforming firm based off the planet Sorax, a naturally terran world with a breathable atmosphere. Because terraforming is extremely costly, most corporations either hire out independant contractors, or don't do anything at all, choosing instead to erect domed facilities suitable to their needs. The ESC was one such contractor, then called World Formers Plus.

The localized terraforming rig, often refered to as a LAR, is the primary workhouse for the job of terraforming worlds that are not condusive to life, whether it is lack of an atmosphere, a corrosive atmosphere, lack of water and other such issues.

The LAR is commonly deployed in groups of five, and each LAR carries two Terraformer units and a two peice facility compound that serves as the living and work quarters for the crew who will be operating the equipment. In addition, there are a pair of dropships, which dock to the belly of the LAR.

The LAR is, of course, a civilian ship and thus is not designed for speed. It's primary function to to haul its load to the world to be terraformed, drop it from orbit (each piece is designed for self re-entry), and then to serve as a supply station and orbital supprot for the terraforming process.

Since the LAR itself is too large to land on worlds with a gravity stronger than .2g, it comes fully equipped with two dropships for transfering personnel and supplies from the LAR to the surface. CA-17 Bulk Transports bring the supplies to the LAR for delivery.

Seen here, the terraformers and the two piece compound are released and being prepped for drop. While workers assembly the compound, since it will drop as a single part, the terraformers will drop, landing with enough force to drive the lower silo structure into the ground. Terraforming equipment made by the ESC is notoriously durable and strong, and many terraformers have continued to operate despite receiving damage that would cripple other structures.

The LAR is actually based off the design of the CA-17 Bulk Transport, but it is far larger in size (by a factor of three) and mass. As such, in a pinch, the LAR can be refittef to serve a number of functions, due to its modular component brackets.

The LAR is powered by two standard Main Resonance Drives, which provide substantial thrust to mass ratios for moving massive equipment. While unloaded, these drives provide extremely power thrust, allowing for speed that is hard to match except by craft of similar design.

There is a foreward and aft docking slot for the attached dropships, as well as an all-purpose dock at the belly of the middle section of the hull. This dock is most commonly used for the loading and offloading of cargo by the CA-17's. Large cargo corridors run the length of the ships hull, making transport the cargo to the dropships far easier.

On re-entry, the Terraforming unit is decelarated just enough to guarantee the lower sections of the facility to be driven into the ground. These terraformers are extremely multipurpose, since they are designed to be used even after the terraforming is completed. The lower sections feature mining equipment for the gathering of resources as well as the main power supplies. The compound at ground level features a majority of the surface equipment, ranging from exosuits common used for terraformer projects and a repair bay for maintaining the necesary vehicles. The silos in the upper section contain the atmospheric converters and condensors for generating new atmosphere, and filtering out contaminents and toxic compounds that may have existed prior to the project.

The personnel compound achieves a much lighter landing, and then is bolted down to prevent shifting in the structure's postion. It is self leveling and will extend its own leveling stilts if necesary. This is home to the crew of the project for the duration of their stay, as well as all the necesary living facilities. Crewmembers serve in shifts of two years, rotating out to a new assignment, or to shore leave once their shift is complete.

CULTURAL NOTE:

Prior to the restructuring as ESC, World Formers Plus was a small contractor with a home office on the world of Sorax, which was under the control of the another corporation. While the Terraforming Service was rather lucrative, it was not consistant work, and the company was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Fortunately, the long rivalry between the ESC and Zeshran Techs began on the world of Yevinth, which was being terraformed at the time. A surprise attack meant to drive the WFP personnel away, so the Zeshran could strip mine to surface, was rebuffed when one of the local engineers mounted shipboard security weapons to several of the exosuits used in the terraforming process.

The armed exosuits easily beat off the Zeshran soldiers, and WFP capitalized on the highly effective measure, which in turn founded the ARTCS program. Soon after, World Formers Plus was reorganized as the Edges Synthos Corporation and added military manufacturing to their repetiore.

Quoting Jesse Long
I'm not really a fan of microscale, namely because your designs only make me want to see you make a SHIP (Seriously Huge Investment of Parts) of your space craft and put them in minifig size. Anyway, what really blew me away is that you, Parrington Levens, Ultramarine, Dali Zheng, Phong Chang, m_o_n_k_e_y, and Mithryl Dlarix (and maybe a few others that are out there) are forming a seriously cool collective of LEGO Space and your story is every bit as epic as the one that Parrington has been writing for his GAIA fleet. Keep up the good work.

Thanks a lot for the feedback. I did finally make a SHIP. Hope that you'll take a look and tell me what you think.

I'm not really a fan of microscale, namely because your designs only make me want to see you make a SHIP (Seriously Huge Investment of Parts) of your space craft and put them in minifig size. Anyway, what really blew me away is that you, Parrington Levens, Ultramarine, Dali Zheng, Phong Chang, m_o_n_k_e_y, and Mithryl Dlarix (and maybe a few others that are out there) are forming a seriously cool collective of LEGO Space and your story is every bit as epic as the one that Parrington has been writing for his GAIA fleet. Keep up the good work.